This massage apparatus herein is intended to aid in a self-massage of regions of the body which are nearly or completely inaccessible using hands alone by applying pressure to treat sore muscles and trigger points on hard-to-reach areas of the back, neck and shoulders without tiring upper body muscles.
Devices commonly used in self-massaging the back tend to be held in the user's hands and pulled to the place of tension. Examples of such devices are trigger point massage devices such as the “AccuMassager Trigger Point Massager” offered by Body Back Company at www.bodyback.com, the “Backnobber Massager 2” offered by The Pressure Positive at www.backnobber-store.com, the “SoloMAX self-massage tool” offered by Kelly Kinetics, the “Thera Cane” offered by Thera Cane at www.theracane.com, and the “Body Back Buddy Jr. Trigger Point Travel Massager”, the “Body Back Buddy Trigger Point Massager”, and the “Body Back Mini Trigger Point Travel Massager” offered by Body Back at www.bodyback.com.
The massage devices to which the present invention is directed require the user to hold the device over his/her shoulder in order to direct the body-contacting tip of the device to the point of massage, and to then moving the device by pushing, pulling and otherwise manipulating it with his/her arms and shoulders in order to apply pressure to the problem point. Devices of this type are ineffective because the muscles they are designed to help relax are actually involved in the massage process. Also, the arm strength of some users is limited, and they cannot easily and/or comfortably reach the problem spot(s) with the massage device and/or use the device effectively owing to an inability to apply an effective degree of force to the problem spot.